You’re engaged! You’ve set the date, so it’s on to the next item on your list: budget. The average cost of a wedding in the United States now tops $30,000. Yours doesn’t have to. Weddings come in all different bottom lines and face it, that money would be better spent on the down payment for a home. One of the items in your budget is going to be the number of guests. Your guest list may be short because the venue you’ve chosen is small, but having a large ceremony and reception site doesn’t mean you have to fill it by inviting everyone you know. So how do you decide who you’ll invite to your wedding? I recommend inviting in

The bride has a to-do checklist that looks something like this: Venue Wedding dress Bridesmaids’ dresses Colors? Shoes Caterer Cake String quartet for ceremony DJ for reception Save-the-date cards Invitations Florist Photographer Videographer Hair stylist Makeup artist Guest list Seating chart If she’s taking care of all that, what are the groom’s responsibilities? When I meet with couples, many times it is the groom who has contacted me. His responsibilities tend to be the officiant and finding suits for himself and the groomsmen, after the bride has told him what colors and how formal they should be, along with shopping for the wedding bands with his fiancée. No wonder some women become bridezillas! (Helpful hint: men, you should never call

When you’re interviewing vendors for your wedding, you’ll be looking for a style that matches your vision as well as experience. Some photographers will take pictures of every possible permutation of family members, which you most likely will never look at again, but might want to send out in Christmas cards (they won’t be ready in time to include with thank-you notes, which should be sent right away). Other photographers will have a photo-journalism style, emphasizing the action and emotion of your ceremony and reception. Some DJs have a set playlist, others leave that up to the bride and groom, and still others will not make the couple do all the work, but will be open to suggestions such as

Saturday I officiated a wedding at the Danada House in Wheaton. It’s a lovely place and I’ve performed three of four ceremonies there. There are three rooms upstairs: one for the groomsmen, another that has a large table in it that I haven’t seen used and a suite for the bride and her bridesmaids. It’s an ideal arrangement for a bride who doesn’t want the groom to see her before the ceremony. The courtyard has an arch at the back and overlooks a garden. A DJ can set up to the side of it or musicians can play from a spot near the building. The wedding Saturday had a harpist, Jennifer Keller, who I have worked with before. She is

Six years ago, my husband I visited Istanbul and Izmir as part of a cruise around the Mediterranean. We agreed that if we ever had the chance to return to Turkey, we would. That opportunity arrived when our best friend from college invited me to officiate at his daughter’s wedding in Istanbul. His daughter is American and her fiancé Australian, so Turkey is about halfway between the two continents. Plus, our friend is currently working in Turkey (although in Ankara, not Istanbul), so he could make the arrangements without too much trouble. Our flight on Turkish Airlines was long and with the time change we effectively lost a day (although we did get it back on our return). The food

The last two posts were on wedding invitation etiquette and what should and should not be included. Aside from the information that should never be on an invitation (where you are registered or any mention of gifts, that children are not invited), there is quite a bit of leeway. Your invitation should match the tone of your wedding. You wouldn’t send a very formal invitation to a backyard wedding, unless you will be having a marquee tent with chandeliers, china and crystal. There are so many do-it-yourself options that you can easily coordinate the style with your personality, how fancy or casual the ceremony will be, your wedding colors and how much effort you’d like to put into creating it.

The wording for wedding invitations depends on who is hosting and where the wedding will be held, but will always include these elements: Proper names of those hosting (host line) The request line The relationship of the bride (or bride and groom or brides or grooms) to the host/s Names of those getting married Day of the week, date and month Time Name of the location of the wedding City and state of the wedding venue A reception line If the parents of the bride are hosting and the ceremony will be in a church: Mr. and Mrs. Armand Joie request the honor (or honour) of your presence… If the parents have titles such as Dr. or Rev. use those

A little over a decade ago, choosing wedding invitations became a lot more fun. In addition to regular stationary outlets, stores such as Paper Source began popping up, offering new, creative ways to express your individuality, whether they printed the invitations or you made them yourself. What should you include in your wedding invitation? Many years ago, a hand-written invitation with a piece of tissue paper on top would be sent to guests in an unsealed envelope. The letter would be hand-delivered by a servant (think Downton Abby’s footmen). No address was needed and envelopes did not have glue on the flap. The tissue protected the invitation from smearing as ink took longer to dry. As the stationary industry and

You spent a year or more planning your wedding and now it’s over and you’re feeling depressed. Let down. Empty. You were planning, anticipating and being the center of attention for months and now you don’t know how to pass all those hours that the wedding plans filled. Where did this sense of disappointment come from? It’s not unusual to feel that life after your wedding is just plain ordinary. The build-up to the big day is heady stuff. It’s also not uncommon to look back and see only the little (or even not so little) things that didn’t go exactly as planned. The ring bearer threw a tantrum. The DJ mispronounced your new last name. The florist put daisies

If you and your fiancé haven’t traveled together yet, now is the time to plan and take a trip—before the wedding. When you’re at home, you have routines both daily and weekly, which help keep your relationship on even ground. But when you’re traveling with your beloved, things stray from the familiar. Have you shared a bathroom together? Spent an extended time in one small room where neatness can be an issue? Even if you live together, you may get a new perspective on your partner’s commitment to cleanliness after sharing a hotel room for a week. Other facets of your relationship that may come to light are problem solving, cooperation, and communication. The vacation where absolutely nothing goes wrong

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Toni was great to work with, from the moment we met to discuss our wedding event till the day she married us. The ceremony she gave at our Wedding was very unique to us and kept it very true to us.We are Hispanic, and it was great the Toni incorporated Spanish into our ceremony– This really helped our family and friends understand the ceremony.
We were very lucky we got to work with Toni and that she was the one who married us. You did great in the Spanish parts too!
Thank you so much Toni!

Toni Maddi was wonderful. We had met once before and made me feel really comfortable. She was great with getting back with e-mail. On the day of the wedding she came early and she was very calm and collected. She walked through the whole thing with us. During the ceremony she would make sure that we were okay. She did a wonderful job and I got many compliments from the guests about her.

Toni,
Thank you for making our wedding day very special. We couldn’t have imagined for anything to be as perfect as you made everything. It’s comforting to know that there are individuals who care enough to make someone’s special event, no matter how small, be the most wonderful occasion possible. We will always remember you as we reflect on our wedding day. You have truly earned our highest recommendations to anyone who is enquiring about an officiant for their special event.